I made this recipe up one day because as usual, I was running out of time and I needed to get dinner onto the table. I have gotten into the better habit of making sure I have some type of thawed, uncooked meat available in the fridge to quickly get a meal going. This day I had a pack of ground turkey and was not in the mood for my usual Asian ground turkey dishes (Thai basil chicken or Mapo Tofu Chicken).
Got Leftovers?
This is more like a framework than a recipe, because there are so many possible substitutions and it is so flexible. If you have turkey (hello Thanksgiving!) or chicken (Costco rotisserie chicken?) leftovers, feel free to loosely chop or shred this and add it to the dish instead of the ground turkey.
Shepherd’s Pie Filling Options
The main filling ingredients include turkey, gravy, and vegetables. I love Marie Callender’s chicken pot pies, which have onions, carrots, celery, and peas. My kids are not all fans of peas so I typically do onions, carrots, and corn and cut up canned green beans.
For the gravy, you could easily just add leftover gravy from Thanksgiving, or you could add any other prepared gravy. I typically do powder gravy that mixes with water, or just add chicken broth and thicken it with cornstarch and water.
Shepherd’s Pie Mashed Potato Topping
The main topping includes mashed potatoes. How much time do you have? Sometimes I have leftover baked potatoes, which I can mash and mix with oil, milk or sour cream, and salt. Sometimes I peel and cook potatoes in the rice cooker (set it and forget it). And sometimes if my kids are really in the mood for super smooth potatoes I go the instant mashed potato route.
The tater tots and french fried onions were an afterthought, but they add calories and heavier flavor for my underweight children. You are welcome to omit these if you are looking for a lighter version of the dish, or just don’t have them on hand.
This is comfort food for me on cold school nights. Use this as a guide, have fun with it, and enjoy!
Tater Tot Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
Topping
- 3 cups mashed potatoes, instant or homemade
- 2 cups tater tots, frozen
- 1 cup french fried onions, optional
Filling
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 carrots, diced
- 1 cup cut corn, fresh, frozen, or canned
- 1 cup cut green beans, fresh, frozen, or canned
- 1 cup peas, frozen
- 2 packets turkey gravy
- 1 lb ground turkey
Instructions
- Peel and cook your potatoes.
- Saute uncooked vegetables: garlic, onion, carrots until tender.
- Add ground turkey and saute till cooked.
- Add other canned or frozen vegetables until warmed.
- If using precooked meat instead of ground turkey, add now.
- Add gravy or cornstarch slurry to thicken. Season with garlic salt or salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour filling into casserole dish.
- Mash cooked potatoes and spread on top of filling.
- Line tater tots on top, sprinkle with french fried onions and/or shredded cheese.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until tater tots are crispy.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
